Gaddafi regime 'in talks with France'

AL Jazeera Africa

Saif al-Islam's comments came a few hours after French defence minister said the rebels should negotiate with Tripoli. Last Modified: 11 Jul 2011 02:09

Saif al-Islam's interview comes amid France's call to rebels to negotiate with the Gaddafi government [GETTY/GALLO] Muammar Gaddafi's administration is in talks with the French government, one of the Libyan leader's son has said in an interview. "The truth is that we are negotiating with France and not with the rebels," the Algerian El Khabar newspaper quoted Saif al-Islamas saying from Tripoli, the Libyan capital. There was no immediate comment from Paris. However, the comments were published on Monday a few hours after Gerard Longuet, the French defence minister, said it was time for the rebel Transitional National Council to come to the negotiating table with Gaddafi's administration. "Our envoy to [Nicolas] Sarkozy said that the French president was very clear and told him 'We created the [rebel] council, and without our support, and money, and our weapons, the council would have never existed'," the newspaper quoted Saif al-Islam as saying. "France said: 'When we reach an agreement with [Tripoli], we will force the council to cease fire'," the newspaper quoted Gaddafi's son as saying. 'Another title for Gaddafi' Longuet said the rebels should not wait for Gaddafi's defeat, while signalling Paris's objective was still that the Libyan leader must eventually leave power. The rebels have so far refused to hold talks as long as Gaddafi remains in power, a stance which before now none of NATO's major powers has publicly challenged. "We have ... asked them to speak to each other," Longuet, whose government has until now been among the most hawkish on Libya, said on French television station BFM TV. "The position of the TNC is very far from other positions. Now, there will be a need to sit around a table," he said." Asked if it was possible to hold talks if Gaddafi had not stepped down, Longuet said: "He will be in another room in his palace with another title." Soon after, the US State Department in Washington issued a message that gave no hint of compromise. "The Libyan people will be the ones to decide how this transition takes place, but we stand firm in our belief that Gaddafi cannot remain in power," it said in a written reply to a query.

Source: Agencies

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